The Sacrilege!

[Edward Miller]

It escapes me how a hammer can be lighter,but hit as hard!! Titanium must be a magical metal. I have worked titanium a little bit(of course there are many alloys),and it is pretty tough,light,and even took a decent edge when I honed it(it wasn't REAL hard),but the hammer thing puzzles me.

And,I CAN be pretty irrational about tool buying,or sometimes what I'll take the trouble to make!!

I can't speak to why, but I can say from experience that the titanium-headed framing hammers drive nails a good bit faster than the more traditional steel-headed versions. A nail that required four or five blows to drive with my (steel, 24-oz) hammer can be driven with about three blows from an 18-oz titanium-headed hammer. They work, and work pretty well, though they are pricy. If you're working a full day on a habitat build, that ~25% reduction in hammer strikes for the same work can really change how your hand feels at the end of the day.

[Jim Foster]

The framing pros I have seen that make a living with a hammer (not a gun) are not taking 4 or 5 swings to drive a nail.

I can't speak to why, but I can say from experience that the titanium-headed framing hammers drive nails a good bit faster than the more traditional steel-headed versions. A nail that required four or five blows to drive with my (steel, 24-oz) hammer can be driven with about three blows from an 18-oz titanium-headed hammer. They work, and work pretty well, though they are pricy. If you're working a full day on a habitat build, that ~25% reduction in hammer strikes for the same work can really change how your hand feels at the end of the day.

[Brian Holcombe]

In spite if this thread I bought a LN #7 and just yesterday jointed two 6' x 16" wide ash slabs with it. Shiny planes do work as well.

I did chose the 7 over the 8 for the weight reason, pushing an 8lb plane is enough.

[Mel Fulks]

A contractor friend had a carpenter who was extremely fast and drove large nails with two blows. The guy quit and moved
to California. He was jealously considered an intolerable oddball by other workers and fired. Don't know if it was a union
thing or what. Came back here and did all again.

[steven c newman]

Used to tap a 7 once to set, and one good hit to bury it. Before they brought in the nail guns, this was the way to hang osb board sheathing. Mine was( well two were) long wood handled 24 rip claws. Vaughn and Craftsman , I think. They used to call mine a "War Club".....

Over six years as a conrete form carpenter. Also did a lot of "Rod buster" work. At one time, I used to love the smell of form oil in the morning, smelled like MONEY, to me...

[David Weaver]

I would bet most of the folks on here haven't driven framing nails seriously, and I'm included in that.

When I got married, a friend of mine gave me a 28 ounce framing hammer. I'm still trying to figure out what I'd ever do with it. If it's tough for someone who had a strong shoulder, a guy with one that's not exercised (like me)...i have no idea how I'd swing it for more than a few nails. Swing it slow, I guess.

[Andrew Fleck]

I used to do it, but that was before nail guns took over framing. 20oz was about right for working all day for most of us. It's a good all around weight for 16p and 8p nails.

[steven c newman]

Use the entire length of the handle, do not use the elbow to swing. Let the weight of the hammer do the work. Simple stuff. You might "choke up" on the handle to start a nail ( one or two taps) then a full, whole arm from the shoulder down swing. Both of my 24s hand a ring of tape down at the end of the handle, that was as far down as I went. Too sweaty of hands tends to let things fly away. The ring was to keep things from going airborne....

Now adays, it is the 16s and 7 oz hammers. More taps, less violence. But, if the need arises, then the full swing will be there. Elbow is still fine, too. Haven't worn it out from a hammer. 12 oz curls, though......

[John Sanford]

Use the entire length of the handle, do not use the elbow to swing. Let the weight of the hammer do the work. Simple stuff. You might "choke up" on the handle to start a nail ( one or two taps) then a full, whole arm from the shoulder down swing. Both of my 24s hand a ring of tape down at the end of the handle, that was as far down as I went. Too sweaty of hands tends to let things fly away. The ring was to keep things from going airborne....

Now adays, it is the 16s and 7 oz hammers. More taps, less violence. But, if the need arises, then the full swing will be there. Elbow is still fine, too. Haven't worn it out from a hammer. 12 oz curls, though......

Those 12 oz curls don't do much to build the biceps, but they do a fine job of putting mass on the midsection.

[Moses Yoder]

I have the Lie Nielson 60-1/2R, traded for an ivory rule, and the 101 won at a planing contest. I have two Knight planes, one won in a planing contest and the other sent to me gratis by a fellow commiserator. My wife bought the Lee Valley medium shoulder plane for me for Christmas one year. I have about a hundred vintage cast iron planes; I have Stanley #2 through #8 bench planes, a number of Bedrock, and various other brands. A plane is a simple function of having a good sharp iron and how it meets the sole at the mouth. Very simple. On all of my new planes, every single one, the only thing I had to do in order to make the plane perform well was to sharpen the iron. That's it. Nothing else. On all of my vintage planes I started out by reading about how to flatten the sole, etc. I spent hours on them. I progressed to where the only thing I worried about was to make sure the frog face was flat and the frog bedded well, the sole was straight and the area in front of the mouth flat and the mouth was parallel to the iron. On the ones I actually used I replaced the iron with a new Hock, an expensive proposition. Most of the new irons cost me 5 or 10 times what the plane cost me. I find their is no comparison between a vintage Stanley iron and a new Hock iron. I will gladly argue that point. In other words, to put a new plane to work took me about 15 minutes and to put a vintage plane to work took me about 10 years of experience then anywhere from an hour to 4 hours. More if I decided to restore it, re-japan, make new tote and knob, etc. You can actually put more than 20 hours into one vintage plane.

So how does the decision on whether to buy new or vintage in any way relate to whether the vintage plane can be fettled to work as well as a new one? It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with whether you have the skill to fettle a vintage plane, whether that is what you want to do with your time, but mostly I think it has to do with how much they cost.

[Jim Koepke]

[Some content removed for brevity.]

So how does the decision on whether to buy new or vintage in any way relate to whether the vintage plane can be fettled to work as well as a new one? It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with whether you have the skill to fettle a vintage plane, whether that is what you want to do with your time, but mostly I think it has to do with how much they cost.

The old saw of having money and little time comes to mind.

It is also easy to understan some folks just do not like "getting dirty" working metal. Hopefully those who feel thusly can understand the other side of the coin being some of us do enjoy "getting dirty" working metal.

Even though my time seems to be filled, I still have more time to spare than money to spare. Any money spent on new must be carefully considered. Same with any money spent on a tool to restore. Though it is much easier for me to talk SWMBO into spending $25 than $250 for another acquisition.

jtk

[Tom Stenzel]

I would bet most of the folks on here haven't driven framing nails seriously, and I'm included in that.

When I got married, a friend of mine gave me a 28 ounce framing hammer. I'm still trying to figure out what I'd ever do with it. If it's tough for someone who had a strong shoulder, a guy with one that's not exercised (like me)...i have no idea how I'd swing it for more than a few nails. Swing it slow, I guess.

When I got married a friend gave me a pocket knife. Made me wonder what I was getting myself into.

-Tom

[Mike Cogswell]

popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog/observation-vintage-handplanes


Actually I don't really have an opinion about this. I live in ignorant bliss regarding new planes.

I can't help but wonder if Chris hasn't overlooked an obvious reason: the students chose one of the new planes that he just sharpened over their "super tuned" vintage plane. The fact that they cleaned up an old plane and fitted it with a new chip breaker and blade doesn't equate to them knowing how to shapen and adjust it properly. Maybe if Chris tuned and sharpened their antique they would use it instead of one of his.

[John Coloccia]

I can't help but wonder if Chris hasn't overlooked an obvious reason: the students chose one of the new planes that he just sharpened over their "super tuned" vintage plane. The fact that they cleaned up an old plane and fitted it with a new chip breaker and blade doesn't equate to them knowing how to shapen and adjust it properly. Maybe if Chris tuned and sharpened their antique they would use it instead of one of his.

It's possible, but the newer ones generally have more mass, thicker irons, and better mechanisms. It's hard to find a reason to recommend an antique plane...even a well tuned one...over a modern plane.

[Sean Hughto]

It's hard to find a reason to recommend an antique plane...even a well tuned one...over a modern plane.

Well, there's price.

There is also the fun of being linked to past woodworkers by literally using their tools. And the unique satisfaction of using a hundred year old tool and feeling it sing in your hands as it does its job. I understand these are more romantic than practical pleasures, but for some they have value.